


Punch

by onewer



Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fights, Fluff, Hate to Love, Love, M/M, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, kibum is ANGRY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-08-09 21:11:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16457291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onewer/pseuds/onewer
Summary: Jonghyun and Kibum find each other annoying, to the point where they can’t stand being around each other. Unfortunately for them, they share many friends and end up having to sit together.What happens when the marking of each other’s names goes unnoticed after Kibum loses his temper and punches Jonghyun?(Soulmate AU where your soulmate’s name will appear on you if you touch them)





	1. Prologue

Kim Kibum groaned as his alarm went off. He hated school, he hated everything about it and he most certainly did not want to get up. He didn’t want the day to start and he didn’t want to go to work later either.

Of all things he really didn’t want, the number one spot would have to go to seeing Kim Jonghyun, the boy who had been getting on his nerves for the past.. well, since Kibum was transferred to the high school.

He hadn’t always hated school, he was fine with teachers and homework and he didn’t even mind the occasional comment about how he was _‘too feminine’_ and _‘gay.’_

Little did they know he really was…

He had friends throughout middle school, Minho and Taemin. They got put into a different high school than Kibum, so he begged his mom to let him go so he would have friends.

It took a year of convincing, but he finally got the okay and was transferred.

Unfortunately, by the time he had transferred, they were already friends with that jackass.

 _Fucking jackass_ , that’s all Kibum could think when he saw the boy at school later that day.

Why did Kibum hate Jonghyun so much? Well..

He wasn’t even completely sure, the other had just been an ass to him from the first time they met. They also didn’t have the same sense of humour, as Jonghyun took a joke Kibum made too seriously. It caused a fight that Minho and Taemin had to stop and ever since that day, the two got the hint that Jonghyun and Kibum wanted nothing to do with each other.

So.. Why were they sitting together at lunch? Jonghyun had other friends, Taeyeon, Amber, Jinki, Jongdae, and so many more.

Kibum’s grip tightened on his lunch tray as he looked at the shorter, talking comfortably with that dumb smug look on his face.

His knuckles turned white and he spun around, suddenly not hungry.

“Hey! Kibum! ..Kibum-hyung!” Taemin called out for Kibum.

Shit.. he was caught. Kibum turned around, his jaw clenched tightly as he tried his best not to stomp over to them.

He placed his tray down a little too hard, sitting on the same side of the bench as Jonghyun but as far away from him as possible.

Kibum hated that dumb look the smaller was giving him, Kibum honestly wanted to punch him in the face.

Taemin and Minho seemed oblivious to the tension, as they kept joking around and eating.

“—right, Kibum?” Minho laughed, expecting a reply from the other who wasn’t listening. “Kibum?”

Taemin kicked him from under the table and Kibum snapped out of it, immediately glaring at Taemin who smiled innocently.

“I swear to god, I’ll kill you one day,” Kibum growled lowly, Taemin just laughing in response. It was how he joked around, at least.. that’s what everybody assumed.

Kibum was just really sassy, but he came off as rude.

“Don’t be so violent,” a new voice spoke up and Kibum’s head snapped in the direction.

“Oh shut up, why are you getting involved in a conversation that _doesn’t involve you_?" Kibum snarled, glaring at Jonghyun.

“Well, _sorry_ , I was just defending _my friend_ ,” Jonghyun countered.

“Yeah? Your friend?” Kibum laughed, “ _Fuck you_ ,” he stood up abruptly, not noticing the stares of almost everybody around them.

He started storming off when he heard Jonghyun laugh, “What’s your problem? Mommy raise a bitch?” Jonghyun said a little too loudly.

Kibum stopped in his tracks and turned back to the smaller, a scary expression displayed on his face.

“Key, _calm down_ ,” Taemin reasoned as said boy came back to the table, grabbing Jonghyun, who had turned around, by the collar.

“Wanna say that again?” Kibum growled and Jonghyun’s expression became smug again.

“I said, did Mommy raise a bit—” he was cut off by Kibum punching him hardly, a cracking noise heard throughout the completely silent cafeteria.

“What the fuck?!” Jonghyun said, pushing Kibum away and standing up.

“Kim Jonghyun and Kim Kibum to the principal's office,” they heard over the speakers.

Neither seemed to notice the sudden sting on the back of their necks, nor’ the names that had appeared.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Kibum and Jonghyun stood up and walked out of the cafeteria in silence. Kids started whispering to each other as soon as they were out of site and Taemin just stared at the doorway blankly while Minho sighed loudly.

"I really thought this would work, Taem. Why are they so violent towards each other?" he questioned, more to himself than to Taemin.

"I don't know.. Maybe there's some kind of sexual tensio—" Taemin started but was cut off by Minho who glared at him.

"You shouldn't even know what that is! You're like.. three!" Minho scolded and the other giggled evilly. "What am I gonna do with you?" the taller asked, rubbing his temples.

Taemin spoke up again, "Key hyung is always nice to everybody and so is Jonghyun hyung, I think they would get along if they tried." Taemin pushed his tray away and put his face on the table, to which Minho cringed at.

"That's really dirty Taemin, don't put your face on the table. They probably never clean it," he scolded the younger again who looked up sheepishly and smiled. He followed Minho's advice and sat up, wiping his face off.

"Maybe we should go ask Jinki hyung? He hangs out with Jonghyun the most," Minho said and stood up.

Taemin nodded and followed Minho, both dumping their trays and heading off to find Lee Jiki.

 

* * *

 

Jonghyun and Kibum had to sit next to each other, as there were only two chairs in the office (besides the principals chair.) They both looked pissed and didn't make eye contact. Kibum decided to just focus on the desk, which was in front of them, as they awaited their principal.

"I hate you," Kibum grumbled, refusing to look over at the shorter whose eyes were on him.

“This is your fault,” Jonghyun whined, the area where Kibum punched him was now mainly red, there was slight purple beneath which was a clear sign of bruising. Jonghyun wanted to cry over the intense stinging but wouldn't show weakness to the taller who just _had_ to be sitting next to him.

“ _You’re_ the one who started it,” Kibum retorted, not batting an eye at the smaller boy who pouted and tried to scoot his chair further away. The feet of the chair scratched the floor and made an awful and loud screeching noise as he tried to get farther away from the other.

“Can you _please_ stop? That’s loud and really fucking annoying,” Kibum said, anger evident in his tone as he heard the other continue to scoot his chair.

“Sounds like somebody I know.”

“Fuck you, stop talking to me,” Kibum stated, getting angry again.

“ _“You’re the one who started it,”_ ” Jonghyun quoted Kibum who finally lost his temper.

He stood up, nearly knocking his chair back in the process, and grabbed Jonghyun by the collar again. He raised his fist just like earlier, but this time, the other flinched. Kibum took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, putting his hand down and letting Jonghyun go.

He looked like a puppy, how could Kibum consciously punch something that looked like a _puppy_ for crying out loud?

“I’ll let it slide _this_ time, Kim Jonghyun. Next time you piss me off, it’s really gonna hurt.”

Kibum fixed his chair and sat back down, an awkward and heavy silence filling the room. Kibum was fine with it, he was still irradiated and wasn't sure he could feel guilty for hitting Jonghyun if he continued to talk.

“Sorry to keep you two waiting,” a new voice said as the door opened and swiftly shut right after.

Kibum winced as soon as she opened her mouth, why was she so loud?

This was definitely not helping his arising headache.

“So, what’s this I hear about a fight? You two haven’t caused many problems before, so what happened?” she asked, sitting back in her chair and waiting for the two to start talking.

Neither did, making the silence more awkward. 

The principal cleared her throat, waiting a few more moments for a reply. “Now, I was willing to let you off easy but if nobody tells me what happened.. I’ll be forced to call your parents and consider suspension. We do _not_ tolerate violence here,” the principal said, each word as sharp as a knife. This only annoyed Kibum further.

However, he didn’t want his mom to find out about any of this and it seemed like Jonghyun felt the same.

“We were..” Jonghyun started slowly but couldn’t seem to think of an excuse, the panicked look he sent Kibum did not go unnoticed.

“We were.. uhm.." Kibum started, scolding himself mentally as he didn't think fast enough. "Practicing for.. a play?” Kibum attempted to save them.

“Oh, really? What’s the name?” the principal questioned. She was already aware of what had happened but she wanted to see how the two played this situation out.

“Uhm..”

“P..Punch Drunk Love!” Jonghyun blurted out, slightly stuttering on the first word. Kibum glared at Jonghyun. _Really? Punch Drunk Love?_

“The.. Yeah, okay, sure. Why don’t you show me a bit of it then?” the principal asked, giving them a purely evil look, at least that's what Kibum thought it looked like.

He glared at Jonghyun again as they stood up and walked behind the chairs to avoid collision.

“O..oh my! I’m so.. drunk!” Jonghyun said loudly, Kibum deducted that his acting was absolutely terrible.

“Yah! Watch where you’re going!” Kibum shouted when Jonghyun stepped on his toe, pain coursing up his leg.

This wasn't acting anymore.

“Maybe you shouldn’t stand in my way!” the latter shouted back, making Kibum even _more_ angry.

“I swear to fucking god, I’ll kick your ass!” Kibum said, shoving Jonghyun very harshly. His shoulder bumped the wall that was close behind them and he glared back, returning the shove.

“Yeah? Just _try_ ,” Jonghyun spat, watching the others moves carefully.

The principal stood up, "Both of you, _stop_! Right now," she commanded but neither listened.

Kibum went to punch him again but his moves were predicted, his fist caught in Jonghyun’s (very warm) hand.

Suddenly he was pushed back against the wall, his head almost hitting it but he caught himself in time. Jonghyun put his hand on the wall next to Kibum's head and the taller noticed that Jonghyun seemed to tower over him, despite being shorter.

“What did I tell you about trying to hit me?” Jonghyun said, his voice seeming deeper.

_This wasn’t right at all.._

“F..fuck you,” Kibum said, voice shaky as Jonghyun came closer and closer.. and then suddenly pulled away.

He bowed in front of the teacher who stood still, seemingly stunned. She slowly started to clap, realizing it was just the performance. Kibum stood confused and stunned as well, knees wobbly. Of course, it was just acting..

Kibum couldn’t believe he actually thought it was real..

He tried to recover, bowing as well.

“Clearly, I misjudged you two. No more fighting though, I’ll let you off with a warning.” Both sighed in relief, “And cleaning duty for 5 weeks,” she added.

Kibum groaned internally but was still glad, it wasn’t that bad to clean a few classrooms alone.

“Together,” she finally finished and Kibum’s head shot up.

“What? Why?” he complained loudly while Jonghyun just kept quiet.

“Do you want a suspension instead, Kibum?”

“N..no..”

“Then I suggest you do what I say. You two may leave,” she gestured to the door. They took her advice and left, going in different directions and dreading the next few weeks they would be forced to spend together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry for any mistakes :(


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING : HOMOPHOBIC SLURS AND VIOLENCE  
> PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION.

 

Taemin and Minho ended up splitting ways to find Jinki, Minho going towards the sports classes (though Taemin was sure Jinki wouldn’t be there, Minho insisted. He was probably just playing sports by now…) while Taemin went to the music and dance classrooms.

He peeked into several classrooms, some empty and others filled with students.

After searching and finding nothing, he texted Minho and started walking back.

On the way, he bumped into Kibum and decided while he was there, he would try to see what happened between the two.

“Key hyung? I’m sorry about yesterday..” Taemin said quietly while walking with Kibum.

“Don’t talk about it,” he groaned, being reminded of the principal's office incident. Kibum started walking faster, leaving Taemin behind.

Said boy whined and tried to catch up, “Really.. Did you get punished?” he asked, to which Kibum stayed silent as they reached his locker.

Taemin just waited beside Kibum, “No.. D-Did you get suspended?!” Taemin gasped loudly. “I’m so sorry Hyung.. I just wanted you and Jonghyun to g—”

“Oh my god, Taemin stop,” Kibum snapped, slamming his locker shut. “You’re evil, stop trying to get information out of me. I already know what you’re up to,” he narrowed his eyes and Taemin frowned.

“H-Hyung.. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Taemin said quickly in a panic, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Kibum just rolled his eyes, “First of all.. You only call me Hyung when you’re up to something! I know that your intentions of making me sit with you, Minho and.. the other one were genuinely pure hearted, but it didn’t work and me and him will never be friends.”

“Kibum.. Don’t talk like that!” Taemin said, leaning against the lockers. After several moments of Kibum looking around in his bag, the younger sighed. “Fine. You know me too well…”

Kibum pulled out his phone, checking the time and groaning, shoving it back into the bag and flinging the bag onto his shoulder.

“Why does nobody ever believe me when I try to tell them that you’re  _pure_ evil. Everybody is always like _‘Taemin would never even hurt a fly!’”_ he exclaimed, waving his hands around while talking.

“A-are you saying I’m e-evil Key h-hyung?” Taemin sniffled, faking a sad expression.

“Do you want me to punch you too?” Kibum said, glaring at Taemin who smiled innocently.

“You would never hurt me Kibummie~” Taemin sang, dodging when Kibum tried to grab him.

“You’re a brat!”

“Then why does everybody like me, Key?” Taemin said with a mischievous voice that made Kibum really want to punch him.

“Because you’re cute..  _SOMETIMES,_ ” he mumbled.

“Hmmm? What was that?” The two had started walking again, Kibum trying to distance himself from the evil child as fast as possible.

“Did  _the_ Kim Kibum just say I’m.. Cute?? Can you say that one more time?” Taemin said loudly, taking his phone out.

“Taemi—”

“Hey! Taem, Key, wait up!” Kibum stopped walking and turned to face Minho, who had someone with him.

“W-was he really… Sports?” Taemin gasped, staring at the stranger.

The strangers face seemed to redden, “No, I was just.. There..?”

“Don’t make him run away Taemin, I just found him!” Minho said, an arm resting on the strangers shoulders.

Kibum just stared at the scene, “Uhm… Hi, I’m Kibum,” he offered a hand to the stranger who took it.

“I’m Lee Jinki!” he said, smiling brightly and shaking Kibum’s hand. His smile was really.. pretty, Kibum thought so at least.

“Anyways! Gotta go Key, Cya!” Taemin said loudly, smacking Kibum on the back and dragging Minho and Jinki away.

Kibum decided not to comment and turned away, walking towards the exit of the school. He desperately desired sleep and hoped this whole thing was a dream, there was no way he could work with the.. enemy!

“Hey, Kibum! Where are you going?”

 _Speak of the fucking devil!_  “What?” Kibum turned around again, seeing a certain brown haired puppy walking towards him.

“You don’t have to be so rude! I was just reminding you that our cleaning duty starts today, so don’t go home or else I’ll tell on you,” he stuck his tongue out and Kibum just stared at him.

“Are you kidding?” he asked in a flat voice, to which the smaller nodded.

“Fine, just stay as far away from me as possible.”

“I’m trying to be nice to you, you don’t have to be a dick,” Jonghyun grumbled, walking down the lockered filled hallway that they had come from.

Kibum followed after he put his bag in his locker again, feeling slightly guilty for being mean when he hadn’t done anything but inform Kibum not to go home, therefore, saving his ass. He caught up to Jonghyun quickly, as he had the advantage of longer legs.

Jonghyun seemed to notice and pouted, but turned his attention away from Kibum.

“Sorry,” Key muttered and Jonghyun looked at him again.

“What was that?”

“ _Don’t_  make me say it again, shorty.”

“Hey! You’re not even that much taller than me!” he exclaimed, stopping in front of a classroom.

“Yeah.. Sure,” Kibum said, stopping as well.

“Thankfully, we don’t have to clean all of the classrooms. I have a list of some, we only have 3 today,” Jonghyun explained to Kibum who nodded.

“How did you get a list?” Kibum asked, looking at the others messy handwriting on a small sheet of paper.

Jonghyun just smiled, “It’s a secret.”

“Yeah? A secret? Do you want m—”

“Are you going to threaten me, Kibum? I’ll have to report you to the principal if it is..” Jonghyun said with a playful tone, smiling smugly while putting the note away and opening the classroom door.

Kibum clenched his jaw tightly, following the shorter into the classroom. “How are we getting into the closet open for cleaning stuff?”

Jonghyun pulled out a key in reply, smiling again and walking across the large classroom to unlock it.

“You can wipe off the desks and windows, I’ll sweep!” Jonghyun called from the closet to Kibum who still stood beside the classroom door.

“Okay?” His head peeked out from the closet and Kibum rolled his eyes, not replying. He, finally, noticed the large bruise that had formed on the smaller’s face.

Kibum winced in thought, feeling guilt tug at his stomach again. He shouldn’t be feeling guilty for Jonghyun, they hated each other. It isn’t right.

He looked away from the smaller who sighed and brought a rag and cleaning fluid over, offering it to Key who took the objects forcefully.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, getting to work with no complaint. Normally, Kibum would have yelled at Jonghyun for making him do all the work, but Kibum knew he was the reason they were doing this to begin with, so he kept his jaw clenched and rubbed the window way harder than it needed to be rubbed.

“So, Kibum..” Jonghyun said, trying to start conversation so the room wouldn’t be filled with only the squeaking of the rag against the window, and the broom against the floor as Jonghyun swept.

“What?” Kibum said, hostility dripping off of his tone. He didn’t mean to sound like that.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Jonghyun frowning, staring at the floor as he swept. Again, he felt guilty.

He wasn’t supposed to feel bad for Jonghyun!

“Sorry, what were you trying to say?” Kibum tried to rescue the conversation, focusing hard on the window that was already spotless.

“Why does Taemin call you Key?” Jonghyun asked curiously, moving a desk chair aside to push the broom under the desk.

“You know.. Key? Like.. The thing you opened the door with, it’s the start of my name. Kibum. You’re really slow,” he scolded and moved away from the windows.

He only had to clean off the desks and then they could move to another classroom.

Jonghyun looked embarrassed, he clearly didn’t think about the question before he asked it.

“What about uhm.. He called you Hyung? But aren’t you younger?” he tried asking another question while Kibum scrubbed drawings off of the freshman’s desks.

“Do I.. Look younger than Taemin?” Kibum asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Jonghyun who shrugged.

“Seriously??” Kibum exclaimed, forgetting about the desk momentarily.

“It’s a compliment, really,” Jonghyun tried to save himself to no prevail.

“Well… Stop. You aren’t good at it, just don’t talk to me, okay?” Kibum asked, getting angry as he scrubbed the desks again.

“Actually, I was thinking we should just clean the next classrooms alone. There’s only two, right? You get one and I get the other,” Kibum said, not really wanting to spend time with the shorter.

Jonghyun looked sad but Kibum didn’t even glance at him. He didn’t want to.

“Oh, okay. If that’s what you want, but I’m giving you the Seniors classroom to clean since it’s farther and I’m lazy.. Maybe you’ll even see some people, they always stay late and get a bit… messy in the classrooms,” Jonghyun said, gaining his confidence again as he turned the situation back into his own hands.

“What do you mean by  _messy_ , Jonghyun?” Kibum asked, but the shorter stayed quiet.

“Jonghyun?”

“You’ll see, don’t worry,” he replied and Kibum glared at him.

“You’re an ass,” Kibum said, finishing up cleaning the desks off. He wasn’t sure why they were even drawing on desks, when he was a freshman he never did things like that.

“Give me the closet key and the room number,” Kibum demanded, holding his hand out expectedly. Jonghyun complied and handed the key over.

“The classroom number?” the younger said, as Jonghyun pulled the note out of his pocket.

“Class 272A, tell me how it goes!” he said happily, putting the cleaning supplies back into the closet and locking it.

Kibum did not want to clean that classroom, he ran into people from that class that often made fun of him.

He didn’t feel like arguing with Jonghyun though, so he accepted his fate and left the shorter to continue his work.

Kibum speed walked across the school to quickly reach the classroom with no interruptions.

However, four people were still inside the classroom. On top of that, it was the people who normally poke fun at him as he walks by, they’ve started rumours about not just himself, but many people.

 _The popular kids,_ with the school wrapped around their finger. Kibum hates them.

One was mid sentence when Kibum pushed the classroom door open, wanting to quickly get cleaning up over with, so he could go home and sleep.

“—he said that..” the girl stopped talking and all eyes in the room turned towards the door. He only recognized two of them.

“Oh.. Uh.. School hours are over..” Kibum started to say, gulping as the others glared. He walked a bit further into the room, a mistake he would regret.

“And?” One of them replied. His name was Jinyoung, Kibum thought at least. Jinyoung pushed himself away from the desk and walked closer to Kibum who took a step back.

“I’m gonna h-have to ask you to.. Uhm.. Leave,” Kibum mumbled, trying to take super small steps backwards.

“What was that? Speak up, Kibum.” The way that the tall boy in front of him said his name sent shivers down Kibum’s spine, and not in a good way.

“Never mind, I’ll come back later bye,” Kibum said quickly, turning to leave.

The taller that was still in front of him grabbed Kibum’s wrist, forcefully pushing him backwards into the concrete wall.

“Where do you think you’re going, on a date with that boyfriend of yours? Or did he decide he wasn’t into boys anymore? I’m surprised… You don’t act like one anyways!”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, get off of me,” Kibum growled.

“Watch your fucking tone, faggot,” the boy said lowly, kneeing Kibum in the stomach.

Kibum grunted, “Fucking.. Fuck! Let go of me!” he said, a little louder this time.

“Homos don’t deserve to freely walk around, yknow? We’ll make sure you won’t be able to by the time you leave here.”

Kibum grit his teeth together and started thrashing around, kicking and screaming until the boy covered Kibum’s mouth.

“Stop fucking moving, Bum. I’ll kill you. You’re disgusting, how can your mom live with you? Your dad probably left because of you, fucking faggot.”

Something cold and sharp was pressed against Kibum’s throat, and he started to cry and attempt to pry the taller’s hands off of him.

He couldn’t fight back, he was shaking and sobbing.

“Listen to me when I speak!” the other yelled.

The cold object was pushed harder into his skin, it was enough to pierce the first layer. Kibum cried even more, he couldn’t breathe with the others hand over his mouth and a knife to his throat.

He started screaming for help, to no use. He was sure nobody outside the room could hear.

“You’re out of luck, fag. Nobody wants to help someone like you.”

Kibum accepted it was the end, though he still tried to get the taller’s hand off of his mouth. He wasn’t strong enough.

He was never strong enough.

A knock on the classroom door went unheard by all ears, as did the squeaking of it opening.

“Ya, Kibum? What’s taking so lon—” Jonghyun started to ask but stopped in his tracks at the scene.

Kibum was being threatened with a knife to his throat while the others in the room just watched. Jonghyun found it absolutely disgusting.

“What the fuck?” Jonghyun growled, and the tall boy let go of Kibum, turning towards Jonghyun.

“Oh, it’s the boyfriend.”

Kibum fell to the ground, still crying. Jinyoung’s friends got involved this time.

“Boyfriend?? I’ll give you one chance to leave,” Jonghyun said sharply, glaring at the others.

Jinyoung just smirked, “What are you going to do? Slap me?”

“Hey guys.. That’s.. Jonghyun.. Maybe we shouldn’t,” one of them said quietly, Kibum still heard though. Did Jonghyun have a reputation of violence? Is he the son of a teacher?

“Fucking leave if you can’t handle it,” Jinyoung growled back, sending a cold look her way.

Kibum tried to stand up. At the same time, one of the boys in the room ran at Jonghyun who punched the boy in the face, a popping noise echoing through the classroom and the student cried loudly, blood running out of their nose.

Everybody froze, Jonghyun wasn’t there to play around, the others noticed and quickly slipped out of the room. This left only Jonghyun, Kibum and the boy with the knife.

“J-Jonghyun, be careful!” Kibum said, too panicked to realize he was speaking in English, yet the smaller seemed to understand.

Before Kibum could even try to help, Jonghyun had already disarmed the boy. Jonghyun’s fist flew into Jinyoung’s jaw with brute force and Kibum winced just watching.

The tall man fell onto the ground with a groan and Jonghyun pocketed the knife, immediately making his way towards Kibum. He grabbed the taller’s arm and pulled him up off of the floor, dragging Kibum out of the room.

He never let go as they stormed through the hallways. Kibum’s throat hurt and his eyes were puffy, he wasn’t supposed to feel glad that his enemy stepped in.

His enemy wasn’t supposed to  _save_  him.

Maybe, just maybe, Jonghyun isn’t the enemy.


	4. Chapter 4

Kibum felt uncomfortable because of how close Jonghyun was to him.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt?” he asked, bringing his hand up to Kibum’s neck to touch the wound.

Kibum flinched away immediately, “Don’t touch me, Jonghyun. I’m glad you stepped in but I don’t owe you anything.”

“Key..” Jonghyun started, puppy eyes large. Kibum looked away.

“Don’t call me that, we aren’t friends and we never will be. Don’t say anything about the incident ever again, it’s best not to let Taemin and Minho worry,” Kibum said, arms crossed on his chest and Jonghyun sighed loudly while stepping back.

“Whatever,” Jonghyun pouted and Kibum dug his nails into the skin on his arms.

“Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself more,” the shorter scolded while moving Kibum’s hands away from his arms.

“ _Jonghyun_ , don’t touch me.”

“I’m just trying to he—”

“Well don’t,” Kibum snapped, shoving Jonghyun away and turning to leave.

“Kibum, please just wait a second,” Jonghyun pleaded with the taller.

“Kim Jonghyun, let go of me  _right_  now!” Kibum yelled, his voice echoing off of the empty hallways. Jonghyun let go, obviously startled by the youngers sudden yell.

Kibum felt bad when he saw Jonghyun flinch, “I’m sorry, I’m not in the mood. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

 

Taemin noticed Kibum’s odd behaviour the moment he saw the older. He was quieter, even when Taemin started doing things that normally annoy him. His neck looked a bit strange but Taemin couldn’t put his finger on it, maybe it was makeup? He didn’t want to be caught staring for too long, so he distracted himself.

Taemin was worried, so he decided to invite Jonghyun to have lunch with him, Kibum and Minho. If Kibum reacted negatively, at least he would react.. His void, expressionless face was really scaring Taemin.

Even Minho noticed the odd behaviour but opted not to ask about it. The lunch table was quiet and Taemin awkwardly cleared his throat.

“So, what did you guy—” Taemin started but was cut off but a cheerful voice. He turned to see Jinki and Jonghyun walking their way, Jinki’s arm around Jonghyun’s shoulders.

Jonghyun smiled at Taemin but froze when he saw Kibum.

“Where should I sit..?” he asked, more to himself than anybody else. Jinki sat on the end of the bench by Minho, while Taemin was sat on the other side of Minho.

Normally, Minho would sit by Kibum but he didn’t seem like he wanted to be interacted with, unfortunately for Jonghyun there was no other option. Both looked uncomfortable but neither argued. There was tension, but not the same as the previous day were they lashed out at each other.

While Jinki, Minho and Taemin got immersed in conversation, Jonghyun turned to Kibum who stared at the table.

“Hey..” he whispered to Kibum, not wanting the others to hear them speak. He wasn’t sure why Kibum was acting so distant from everybody today, even Jonghyun was worried.

“No,” Kibum said sternly, arms crossed and gaze not turning away from the table. Jonghyun wasn’t sure what was so interesting about it. Kibum hadn’t whisper though, all eyes at the table turned towards him and Jonghyun who was sitting close to Kibum.

They were all quiet and Jonghyun felt awkward, hoping he wasn’t the only one.

Suddenly, Taemin gasped and covered his mouth dramatically. “No way..” he said in shock, now everybody stared at him in question.

Taemin simply pointed between Jonghyun and Kibum, “I figured something was wrong, I never saw Kibum leave school yesterday, neither did Jonghyun.. Now Kibum’s acting weird, makeup on his neck and walking weirdly..” Taemin said, trying to hint at what he was talking about.

Jonghyun felt his cheeks start to warm up, “Taemi—”

“Did you two.. you know..” Taemin asked, still in shock. Minho smacked Taemin in the back of the head.

“Don’t ask that kind of stuff!” he scolded while Jonghyun and Kibum just stared at them, cheeks dusted with red and eyes wide.

“Wait.. Really??” Taemin exclaimed very loudly, standing up and staring at them both with accusing eyes.

“No! No! Never ever ever in a million years! Not even in a million!” Kibum said back while standing up to meet Taemin’s eye level. He was panicked that everybody would get the wrong idea.

Jonghyun, on the other hand, felt offended by the tallers words but stayed silent.

Everybody was quiet until Jinki cleared his throat, “Taemin-ah? Leave them alone,” he suggested lightly at the younger boy who pouted but sat down regardless.

“Seriously! We didn’t do anything! It’s.. We were just.. Cleaning!” Kibum said quickly, not wanting anybody to even  _think_ about him and Jonghyun doing.. that kind of thing.

“Yeah! We didn’t!” Jonghyun said, trying to back Kibum up. Kibum just sent Jonghyun a hard glare that made the shorter feel like he shouldn’t have spoken.

“Shut up! This is your fault, if you could just keep your mouth shut for once!” Kibum hissed and Jonghyun rolled his eyes.

“Oh? Was I the one who acted violently towards an innocent classmate?” Jonghyun said, standing up as well.

“Innocent?  _Really_? You insulted me and my mother! You should just leave me alone, I told you that I don’t owe you anything and I don't want to be friends with you!” Kibum started yelling and Jonghyun just got angrier. He knew he shouldn’t, Kibum had every right not to like him, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Really? You might not owe me anything, but I saved you! The  _least_ you can do it not yell at me! I helped you even though you punched me in the face!” Jonghyun yelled back, pointing at his cheek that was still bruised.

“I didn’t need your help, Jonghyun! Don’t fucking talk to me,” Kibum spat and turned to walk off but Jonghyun grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t leave!” Jonghyun said, his tone much softer. “Don’t leave, Kibum.” The taller just yanked his hand away and stormed off, leaving Jonghyun staring after him and the others at the table completely silent.

Jonghyun was frozen in place.

“Jonghyun, sit down,” Jinki said softly, finally breaking the silence between the four that were left at the table.

Jonghyun didn’t move.

“Hyung.. Kibum just gets like this sometimes, he doesn’t trust people and he doesn’t like you for some reason. It’s best to just let him cool down,” Taemin tried to soothe Jonghyun but it was no use.

He took a step forward, and then another, and then he started running to find Kibum. After the previous day, those bullies might try to target Kibum when he’s alone and Jonghyun wouldn’t have it.

Even if Kibum was a dick, Jonghyun wouldn’t just let the boy get injured. So, he ran and ran until he ran right into the person he was looking for.

Kibum fell forward, almost hitting his face on the ground while Jonghyun fell onto Kibum’s back.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kibum almost screamed his words.

Jonghyun got off of the taller, sitting on the dirty floor of the school. Kibum rolled over to sit up as well.

“I was trying to find you..” Jonghyun said sheepishly, smiling at Kibum who glared.

“You ran into me! You hurt my back!” Kibum complained, wincing slightly. Jonghyun hadn’t gotten to see the boy this close before.

He wore makeup, very well might he add. Jonghyun thought Kibum was very pretty for a boy.

“Are you listening to me, idiot?” Kibum said, narrowing his eyes at Jonghyun while he stood up.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you,” Jonghyun apologized, looking down at the floor. Kibum felt guilty again.

He offered a hand to the smaller who looked up at Kibum in shock.

“Take it before I smack you,” Kibum said, no edge to his words. He almost seemed flustered.

Jonghyun decided not to point it out and just took his hand. Kibum pulled the smaller up and quickly let go.

Jonghyun opened his mouth to say something, Kibum assumed it was a smug comment, so he cut Jonghyun off before the shorter could say anything.

“Don’t ever mention this again,” Kibum said, narrowing his eyes at Jonghyun again. “Why are you here anyways? Why did you run after me?” Kibum asked, dusting his pants off after being on the ground. His back was still sore, but he didn’t complain anymore, as he could see the still evident bruise on Jonghyun’s face. Maybe he would ask if he told his parents anything about the fight.

“Oh.. Uhm..” Jonghyun started, cheeks warming up. “I was.. I thought those people from yesterday would target you if you’re alone so..”

“Oh. Thanks,” Kibum mumbled, not looking at Jonghyun. How could he be so stupid? Of course those people would probably try to get him without somebody around, Kibum didn’t even think of it. He was just so angry, he had to leave before he hurt Jonghyun again.

“But, I could handle myself! I have muscles of steel you know? Just look at your cheek, I can totally take them!” Kibum said, trying to reassure himself and Jonghyun at the same time. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt the need to. He didn’t even care about Jonghyun, he was just saying it so then maybe the shorter would finally leave him alone.. That’s all.

“Right, right. Muscles of steel, how could I forget?” Jonghyun said, sarcasm dripping off his words as he humored the younger.

“Yah! I’ll hit you again!” Kibum threatened jokingly. “Look, muscles of pure steel I tell you!” Kibum flexed his arm and Jonghyun tried not to laugh.

“Kibum.. I’m sorry but.. those are twigs!”

“Twigs that will defeat you if you say another word!”

“Uh huh..”

Jonghyun spent the rest of the day trying to escape Kibum’s wrath of twig arms.


	5. Chapter 5

“What do you think is up with them?” Taemin asked, poking at his food. After Jonghyun and Kibum ran out, Taemin felt guilty.

“Maybe it’s best to just leave it alone..” Jinki said softly, offering a smile to Taemin who flushed and looked away. Jinki’s smile could make anybody and everybody weak.

“I just wanted Kibum to act normal again, I thought teasing him and Jonghyun would make him back to normal..” Taemin said sadly, shrinking down into his seat.

“Don’t worry, Taem. I’m sure Kibum will be back here any minute,  _‘You little brat! Come here!’_ ” Minho mimicked Kibum, making Taemin giggle.

“ _‘Yah! Do you wanna die??’_ ” Taemin continued Minho’s impression, doing a high pitched voice that made him keep laughing. Even Jinki started laughing.

“See? He won’t be angry at you forever, I’m sure those two will get along well eventually..” Minho said, he was determined.

“Mmm... I’m not sure why Jonghyun is so rude towards Kibum, he isn’t as hot-headed as he seems... I was pretty sure he even liked Kibum,” Jinki said, playing with a straw that was in his drink.

“Kibum isn’t normally this violent either.. Maybe something else happened?” Minho suggested, sighing loudly after nobody could come up with an idea of what happened.

“I’ll get it out of him eventually,” Taemin grinned, an evil expression growing on his normally innocent features. Jinki laughed at the expression and moved his hand up, accidentally knocking his drink over on the table.

He started panicking as the liquid started dripping off the table and onto Minho who sat next to him. His eyes were wide with a shocked expression that made Taemin start cackling. “Jinki, calm down! You only spilt something, I’m sure Minho doesn’t mind,” Taemin said, trying to stop laughing. He wiped a tear from his eye at the same time as Minho stood up.

“Don’t worry about it, Jinki. I have clothes to change into, just make sure to clean this up,” Minho said, smiling at Jinki and then looking at Taemin. “You help him clean it up too.” This made Taemin stop laughing. Instead, he pouted.

“But... But.. Minhoooo..” Taemin dragged the ‘o’ out and pulled on Minho’s arm. The taller's face seemed to turn slightly pink, but Taemin didn’t notice.

“No buts Taemin, how old are you?” Minho said, though his tone was light and he smiled. He shook Taemin’s arm off and started walking away from the table.

Jinki’s face was also red, he was embarrassed. Taemin stood up and got some paper towels to help Jinki clean up. When he came back he offered some to Jinki, who took them, and then started to help clean up.

 

* * *

 

Jonghyun was leaning against the wall of the school hallway, he wouldn’t admit it out loud but he was scared for Kibum. He tried to make an excuse to stay after his classes to make sure Kibum was okay and not being harassed again.

He thought for half an hour as his class came to an end until Jinki texted, asking if Jonghyun wanted to go out after school with himself, Minho and Taemin. Jonghyun smiled in glory as Jinki followed up the text, asking Jonghyun to see if Kibum wanted to tag along.

Of course, he accepted and now waited outside of Kibum’s class.

To say Kibum was startled when he came out of the classroom and saw Jonghyun leaning against the wall would be an understatement. He ran into the smaller and nearly had a heart attack, getting ready to apologize until he realized it was _him_ again

“Jonghyun? Are you stalking me?” Kibum asked bluntly, seeing a flustered Jonghyun in front of him.

“No! Gross..” Jonghyun said, crossing his arms and looking away from Kibum’s face.

“Did you not get enough of my ‘Twig Arms’ last time?” Kibum challenged, smiling as he tried to get Jonghyun into a headlock to continue making the shorter boy suffer for his comments that were made the previous day. Unfortunately, Jonghyun dodged the younger with a triumphant smile.

“Jinki wants me to ask if you want to go get some food with the gang,” Jonghyun stated, standing out of Kibum’s reach to avoid further shenanigans. Kibum shifted his weight from one foot to the other until he sighed.

“Who’s in ‘the gang,’” Kibum asked, though he had a pretty good idea of who it was.

“Jinki, Minho, Taemin, and me! You’re gonna join too since you’re friends with us,” Jonghyun said, a big smile growing on his face as he talked about his other friends. Kibum scoffed, his guess was right...

“I’m friends with Minho, Taemin and Jinki.” Kibum crossed his arms and Jonghyun’s happy expression fell without him realising.

“Oh, right right.. That’s what I meant! Don’t turn down Jinki’s offer, he’s paying for once!” Jonghyun said, trying to sound happy again. Kibum really didn’t like how he was so hard to refuse.

“Fine. Only because Jinki invited me. When are we going?” Kibum asked, avoiding Jonghyun’s stare until said boy grabbed his arm with no warning.

“Right now!” Jonghyun said, happily dragging Kibum along while he struggled.

“Jonghyun, I have to put my stuff away.” Kibum tried to stop Jonghyun, but he didn’t listen. “Jonghyun, stop walking.”

“Kim Jonghyun! Are you deaf? Let go of me!” Kibum yelled, he had no patience when it came to the older. His yelling worked but Jonghyun flinched and his happy expression melted away. It physically hurt Kibum to see his crushed expression and sad puppy eyes.

“Sorry, you weren’t listening to me..” Kibum tried to apologize, his heart felt like it was being squeezed when he saw Jonghyun sad, but he didn’t want to admit it.

“It’s okay,” Jonghyun said quietly, he let go of Kibum’s wrist and followed the taller to his locker.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Kibum asked as he put books up, glancing in Jonghyun’s direction when he spoke.

“It’s where Jinki works.” Jonghyun’s fingernails tapping against his phone screen was the only other noise in the halls, apart from Kibum going through his locker. He always stayed later than the other students, due to an elective that ran late almost every day. He wasn’t sure how Jonghyun got his class number, he thought it was probably best that he didn’t ask.

“You do realize I have no idea where that is, right?” Kibum looked at Jonghyun with a deadpan expression. Jonghyun smiled at him.

“It’s a surprise then!”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“Too bad!” Jonghyun grabbed Kibum’s wrist again after the younger closed and locked his locker, mentally preparing himself to be in a room with Jonghyun for, presumably, more than 30 minutes.

Jonghyun dragged him out of the school and Kibum sighed, “How long is the walk gonna be?” The weather was cold, but it hadn’t snowed that day. Not yet, at least. Kibum didn’t want to be out in such weather without the right clothing.

“Not that long,” Jonghyun said, still holding onto Kibum’s wrist. It was starting to hurt but any attempt that Kibum made to get out of the grip was a fail, he wasn’t sure how strong Jonghyun was, but he didn’t want to find out anytime soon. He was lucky that Jonghyun never punched back, he might have lost a tooth.

Jonghyun noticed Kibum’s squirming and felt bad for hurting him, but he knew if he let Kibum go the taller would probably run away. Instead of letting him go, he slid his hand from Kibum’s wrist to his hand and held it, trying to do it as nonchalantly as possible.

Kibum felt his cheeks warm up, he decided not to say anything because he didn’t want to be pulled along by his wrist again.

His cheeks got even warmer when he noticed that Jonghyun’s hands were big and warm, not super soft like Kibum’s but still really nice to touch. Kibum started to get uncomfortable holding hands with Jonghyun, especially when he realized that he didn't mind it. They weren’t supposed to do something like this… Jonghyun didn’t even know that Kibum is gay, he would probably feel so disgusted knowing he held hands with somebody like that.

The thoughts just made the younger sad, his eyes watching the ground beneath their feet disappear as they continued moving forward.

“Key? Are you okay?” They both stopped walking, Kibum looked up to see Jonghyun’s concerned face staring at him. He couldn’t help but notice the sky growing darker, and the clouds that huddled together across it. It was getting colder, Kibum guessed it was only around 5 in the afternoon.

Jonghyun spoke up again, shaking Kibum’s hand to get his attention. “Key? Kibum? Idiot?” Jonghyun kept saying, trying to get on the younger’s nerves.

“What?” Kibum snapped, feline-like eyes narrowing at the short, dinosaur-looking boy right next to him. Their fingers were still intertwined, making Kibum feel warm despite the cold air around them. “I’m not an idiot,” he added before the other could speak.

“Are you okay?” Jonghyun asked again, squeezing the taller’s hand in support and turning to keep walking as he talked.

“I’m fine. What did I tell you about calling me Key?” Jonghyun didn’t reply to Kibum’s comment. Instead, he stopped walking and waited for Kibum to realize they had arrived at the place where Jinki worked.

“This is it?” he asked, staring up at the sign above the building. It was an ice cream parlour, Kibum couldn’t imagine Jinki working there.

Jonghyun pulled on Kibum’s hand, leading him inside the building where they immediately saw the others sitting at a table. “Hey!” Jonghyun called, waving to them with his free hand and, again, dragging Kibum along. The taller didn’t complain, he just let Jonghyun drag him over to the table and sat across from him.

Kibum sat with Taemin, who was across from Minho as usual. Jinki wasn’t at the table yet, as he was still working but Kibum assumed his shift would be over soon.

“So.. You guys came in together?” Taemin said, wiggling his eyebrows. Kibum hit him in the arm and Taemin whined, “Kibum!! Don’t abuse me like this..” In response, Kibum raised his fist again and Taemin smiled nervously, shrinking into his seat.

Jonghyun kicked Kibum under the table for being violent to their friend. Of course, Kibum kicked back, sending a glare in Jonghyun’s direction.

“How can you even reach me? Your legs are so short..” Kibum said, looking at his fingernails with an uninterested expression. Jonghyun gasped.

“You really aren’t even that much taller than me!! I’m not short..” Jonghyun complained, desperation in his voice.

“Uh huh..” Kibum replied, only looking away from his hands after Jonghyun spoke up again.

“Stand up!” Jonghyun said, still looking desperate.

“And why should I?” Kibum asked, but Jonghyun didn’t reply. He stood up and reached over the table, grabbing Kibum’s arm and pulling him up as well. Kibum didn’t struggle, he already knew his strength was nowhere near Jonghyun’s.

The shorter pulled him in front of the table and stood right in front of him, too close for comfort if you asked Kibum. He couldn't help but realize that Jonghyun had been pulling him a lot that day..

“Look up straight,” Jonghyun said and Kibum sighed dramatically, doing what Jonghyun told him to anyways. “Look! You aren’t that much taller than me..” Jonghyun said, confidence evident in his tone.

“Dude.. You’re like 3 feet smaller than me..” Kibum said, looking down into Jonghyun’s eyes who glared at him.

“Maybe 3 inches! Stop acting like you’re 6 foot..” Jonghyun whined, breaking the eye contact to look at Taemin and Minho who were staring at them. Jinki was also watching from the counter.

“Back me up!” Jonghyun said to them and Kibum rolled his eyes.

“They aren’t going to, seriously you’re so—”

“Jonghyun’s right,” Minho spoke up while Taemin was trying hard not to laugh at Kibum and Jonghyun’s bickering.

“Yeah.. Kibum how old are you? Why do you need to prove you’re so much taller than him?” Taemin said, taking this rare opportunity to make fun of Kibum and not get smacked.

“You’re just mad I’m taller than you  _and_ Jonghyun!” Kibum snapped at Taemin who smiled at him.

“Are you sure about that?” Taemin challenged, still smiling brightly at Kibum who was glaring again. The people around them starting giving the table weird looks as they continued fighting.

Kibum went home later than normal that night, dreading work the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg .. so sorry for the late update :( im back though so lets get it !!! sorry about the abrupt ending, i wasn't sure how else to end it but next chapter will HOPEFULLY be longer !!


	6. Chapter 6

Kibum was currently at a small, frequently busy, convenience store. It was where he worked and he hated it, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. A job was a job, after all.

When Kibum opened his mouth to spout the usual ‘Did you find everything okay?’ he stopped abruptly when he made eye contact with wide, familiar eyes. He had really started to suspect that Jonghyun was some kind of _stalker_ because there’s no way them meeting so often was a coincidence.

“Key?” Jonghyun asked, setting the items he was going to purchase on the counter so Kibum could check them out.

“Bum,” Kibum finished for him, eyeing the items that Jonghyun wanted to buy suspiciously. It all seemed boring, milk, cereal, some Japanese gummies. He lost interest quickly and started scanning them. There wasn’t that much stuff anyway.

“Huh?” Jonghyun said, confused as to why Kibum had just said Bum out of nowhere.

“Kibum. My name is Kibum, not Key. You can’t call me that,” Kibum scolded quietly and put Jonghyun’s items into plastic bags. “Your total is $15.48,” his voice was back to the robotic cashier voice that he had gotten over time. This was work, he couldn’t start an argument with Jonghyun here.

Kibum took in the other’s appearance, he was wearing a hoodie that was too big on him and black jeans that hugged his legs too well. It was nothing special, but Kibum had no room to talk. He was wearing an extraordinary plain outfit, it was almost embarrassing for him, who always tried to outdo himself with his clothing and makeup. However, when he had to wake up so early in the morning on the weekend, he didn’t really care.

Until that is, his cute classmate showed up and was definitely examining him. Not that Jonghyun was that cute classmate or anything.

The older handed Kibum the amount due and took his bags, there was nobody behind him, so he figured he could try to make conversation with Kibum for a moment. “I didn’t know you worked here,” he said, regretting it immediately. That was so awkward, he sounded so awkward and Kibum did _not_ look impressed.

Kibum scoffed, “Well. First of all, you didn’t ask. Second of all, why would I tell you? You think I want everybody to know I work here?” he snapped at Jonghyun who frowned.

“Kibummie... You’re so mean,” Jonghyun whined and waited for a reply, but got none. “What are you doing after work?” he asked, oblivious to Kibum’s ‘seriously, get out right now’ vibe.

“None of your business,” he said, looking at Jonghyun who didn’t seem to get the message that Kibum didn’t want to talk to him. Or befriend him. Or hang out with him.

“Come on,” Jonghyun whined again, reminded Kibum of how Taemin often pouts and whines when he won’t tell the younger something.

“I’m hanging out with Minho,” Kibum said after a few moments of silence. He figured that Jonghyun wouldn’t give up until he caved and said his plans.

Jonghyun grinned, “Really? Can I co—”

“No. You’re starting to hold up the line, I’ll see you at school. Go now, bye Jonghyun,” Kibum wouldn’t let him argue, so Jonghyun just sighed in defeat and started to slowly walk out. It was Kibum’s turn to sigh now.

“Problems with your boyfriend?” the lady that was next in line asked, and Kibum made a face of horror.

“No! No, not him. Never.”

“If you say so…”

 

* * *

 

  
After leaving work and changing out of his plain clothes, he went to Minho’s house. It was rather large, he didn’t know how Minho’s parents could afford such a house. The thoughts left as fast as they appeared when the door opened.

To his horror, Taemin was standing there with that dumb smug look on his face like he always has. Kibum had a soft spot for Taemin, even if he was weird and annoying sometimes. He was cute and a great friend, though Kibum would never admit that out loud.

“Is that Kibum?” Minho called from somewhere inside the house, while Kibum just pushed Taemin aside and walked in.

“Yes! He came extra grumpy too!” Taemin called back cheerfully and Kibum sent him a sharp look over his shoulder. The younger smiled nervously and Kibum took his shoes off and went to the kitchen.

He went over to Minho’s house very often, to the point where it felt like his own. While he was getting water, Taemin and Minho were arguing over movies. They decided on a horror one and sat on the couch, leaving no space for Kibum. He could sit on the floor if he wanted to sit down.

When he was back in the room, Kibum didn’t even bother to argue and just sat in front of the couch. He zoned out pretty quickly, not that interested in the movie. He was also getting annoyed, Taemin kept kicking him every time he got scared. He wasn’t sure Taemin could even feel fear, so the kicking was probably on purpose.

Kibum thought back to the events of that day and came to the conclusion that one of the morons sitting behind him had ratted him out to Jonghyun. Knowing this, he spoke up at a (seemingly) boring part of the movie.

“So.. Which one of you told Jonghyun where I work?”

Minho looked at the back of Kibum’s head, “What?” he asked and raised an eyebrow, though Kibum couldn’t see.

“One of you know what I’m talking about... Why else would he show up and buy things like milk when it’s so overpriced there! There’s a grocery store like five minutes away, and I’m sure he isn’t that dumb.” Kibum turned around to look at Taemin, who looked confused.

“Fine.. Nobody wants to talk?” Kibum said, narrowing his eyes and picking his first victim. He really suspected Taemin, seriously that kid could be evil. “I’m going to get more water,” and with that, Kibum left the room.

Minho paused the movie and turned to Taemin, “Did you tell Jonghyun?” he asked quietly and Taemin shook his head.

“I didn’t. I know don’t look at me like that, but seriously I didn’t do anything this time.”

Minho sighed at Taemin’s reply and opened his mouth but Taemin cut him off again. “I’m going to use the bathroom, don’t play the movie without me..”

When Kibum came out and didn’t see Taemin, he frowned with several cold ice cubes in his hand, already melting and dripping off his hand. He figured interrogating Minho, for now, wouldn’t hurt, he might know something.

He stalked behind Minho, who sat on the couch and scrolled through his phone, and quickly dropped all the ice cubes down his shirt. Minho jumped off the couch with a scream, it was the funniest thing Kibum had ever seen in his entire life, he was crying.

“Fucking— Kibum! What the fuck!” Minho couldn’t stop cursing, not even when Taemin came into the room because he heard screaming and thought they started the movie without him.

“Sorry, sorry!” Kibum cried out when Minho picked up one of the fallen ice cubes and held Kibum in place, shoving it down his shirt too. He couldn’t even be angry, Minho had screamed.

“I have to change my shirt now,” he said angrily and stormed passed Kibum. The other wouldn’t be mad that long, but Kibum still followed him to apologize. (Even if he wasn’t actually sorry…)

“Minh..” he trailed off when he had pushed the bedroom door open. It wasn’t the sight of Minho’s naked back that shocked him, rather, it was a tattoo. “Minho, what the hell!” Kibum stormed over and the latter looked back in confusion.

“Kibum, give me a second,” Minho said and started to pull on a shirt, to which Kibum stopped him.

“What- What is this!” Kibum slapped a hand over the tattoo on Minho’s back. The other inched away and looked really confused.

“First, your hand is really cold. Second, are you... Okay? What is what?” Minho questioned and Kibum stared at him with a deadpan expression.

“You got a tattoo and you didn’t tell me! Of..” Kibum removed his hand and squinted at the letters, “J-Jinki’s name?” Kibum stuttered, now he was confused.

“What?? Kibum, you already dropped ice down my shirt. Isn’t it a little too early for another prank? I already said I didn’t tell Jonghyun about where you work,” Minho said with a frown, going to pull his shirt on again.

“Taemin!” Kibum called, the younger appearing in the door frame shortly after.

“What?” he questioned, confusion making its way onto his face at the situation. Kibum was still forcing Minho to keep his shirt off.

“Come here, tell Minho what’s on his back!” Kibum said, looking at the tattoo again. Taemin walked over to Kibum, looking bored until he saw the ink.

Taemin then went unusually silent, his features hardened. “Minho..? Why did you get Jinki’s named tattooed?” Taemin asked quietly, looking away from the tall boy.

“I didn’t! Seriously, I didn’t!” Minho said defensively, finally being able to put his shirt on. It was starting to get awkward.

“Well, if you didn’t then explain this!” Kibum said accusingly, all three of them going silent.

“Jinki— Is Jinki your..” Taemin started, words uncharacteristically quiet and voice slightly shaky, it was starting to worry Kibum. He swallowed hard, “..soulmate?”

Kibum felt a rush of anxiety rush through him, had Minho not known this whole time? What if the same thing had happened to Kibum and his soulmate was like, Taemin or something! Before he could let Minho reply, Kibum started to take his shirt off.

“Check me! Please, oh please god tell me there’s nobodies name there,” Kibum said with desperation and both Taemin and Minho held their breath at the new looking ink that had appeared in Kibum’s skin.

_Kim Jonghyun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE AND IT'S SHORT AND A BAD CHAPTER :( i rewrote this so many times but i have to get my wisdom teeth out in like ten hours so im just gonna post it... the next chapter (HOPEFULLY) won't take as long, ive just been kinda busy + writers block.  
> ANYWAYS THANKS FOR READING I LOVE U THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME

**Author's Note:**

> This will have slow updates 6v6 Thank you for reading!!


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